This Poison Called Love
by Celtic Quill
Summary: This is the story of Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy. The story of how love can corrupt. The story of how sweet Narcissa Black became callous Narcissa Malfoy. -More in-depth summary inside.-
1. I

**Author's Note:** Hello, all! :) Welcome to my fanfiction. Go ahead, pull up a chair (though, odds are, you're already sitting in one), pour yourself a goblet of butterbeer, and settle in. Just a few things before we get started. First off, here's a more in-depth summary, below:

_Before she was Narcissa Malfoy, she was Narcissa Black: soft-spoken, silly, caring toward others, and best friends with her cousin Sirius._

_But then came Lucius Malfoy: brave, strong-willed, and determined to get what he wanted at all costs._

_Despite every instinct in her body telling her to run the other way, Narcissa is drawn to Lucius by an attraction that cannot be shaken. He might be dangerous, even poisonous to her beliefs, but love doesn't like to listen to reason..._

Second, often when I write a fanfiction, I have a cast list in my head. With the main characters when reading the actual HP books, I create the character with my imagination. Even when writing fanfics centered around the Trio, I use my own imagination of what they look like. But when writing a fanfiction on lesser-known characters, I like to use a certain 'cast list' to be more inspired with relationship-developments and such.

Anyway, my particular **"casting"** for this fanfic is: _Narcissa Black - _Dianna Agron; _Lucius Malfoy _- Alex Pettyfer; _Sirius Black_ - Jonathan Groff; and _Bellatrix Black - _Katie McGrath. Of course, your imagination may not at all agree with who these characters look like, but these are just the people who I used.

Alright, I feel like I've been babbling a bit much, but all of these things I felt I needed to tell you. One more thing: This story is **slightly AU: **Narcissa, Lucius, Sirius (and all of his friends) are all in Seventh Year together. I understand that this is not how the ages actually corresponded in the books, but for my story, this is how it needed to be. Consequentially, Bellatrix is actually _younger_ than Narcissa, though I know she is the older sister in canon. Sorry, but again, that's how it needed to be for my particular story.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything from _Harry Potter_ except for this plotline. Also, this story is not endorsed by or affiliated with any of the actors whom I used with my "casting."

And now I give you the first chapter of my fanfiction _This Poison Called Love_. I really hope you enjoy it, and reviews are always encouraged! XD

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"I'm just telling you, there's no way Slytherin is going to beat Gryffindor if they make it to the next round of the Quidditch matches," Sirius Black was saying to his cousin Narcissa Black.

Narcissa gave him a mischievous smile. "We'll see about that. I've been watching my fellow Slytherins practice, and they've got a few tricks up their sleeves."

Sirius grinned. "Oh, come off it! Stop acting like you know anything about Quidditch."

Narcissa pretended to look offended. "Excuse me, but just because I'm a _girl_ doesn't mean I'm ignorant to the world of high-flying sports." She pressed her hand over her heart. "I resent your stereotype."

"Noted and ignored," Sirius said. He slung an arm over Narcissa's shoulders. Rolling her eyes at his antics but grinning, Narcissa leaned into his side and rested her head against his.

They were strolling down the hallway, headed to Potions class. Though Narcissa was a Slytherin and Sirius was a Gryffindor, their Houses shared Potions together.

They reached the staircase leading down to the dungeons. Sirius slipped his arm off Narcissa's shoulders and executed a comically formal bow, sweeping his arm toward the stairs.

"After you, milady," he said.

Narcissa stuck her hands on her hips and shook her head defiantly back and forth. "Nuh-uh," she said. "Didn't we _just_ have this whole women-are-as-capable-as-men conversation at lunch?"

Sirius straightened up and shot Narcissa a look that was half-amused and half-exasperated. "How is me letting you walk down the staircase first an insult to your gender? I'm just being a gentleman!"

Narcissa smirked. "Never thought I'd hear those words leave you lips with you keeping a straight face."

Sirius cracked a grin. "You know what? If you don't want to go down the stairs first, then I will."

"Good," said Narcissa, fighting back a grin. She loved their silly banter.

As Sirius was beginning to walk down the stairs, Narcissa quickly hurried after him, cutting off his path. "Race you to the classroom!" she shouted.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Sirius protested. "You caught me by surprise, you ruddy cheater!"

Giggling like mad, Narcissa bolted down the stone staircase, skipping every other step. She could hear Sirius' quick footsteps behind her, his breathing ragged with laughter. She'd reached the bottom step and was about to deposit herself onto the ground when Sirius' hand reached out and seized her elbow.

He used her as a catapult, swinging himself forward and gently pushing her aside. She stumbled off the step and hit the ground, landing on her hip. It smarted a bit, but other than that, she was completely unharmed.

Still, if Sirius could play dirty, so could she.

"OWW!" she cried out, contorting her face into a mask of pain. She gripped her ankle and rocked back and forth. "My ankle!"

She heard Sirius' footsteps abruptly stop and then start again as he changed course and dashed back over to her.

"Oh no, are you okay?" he asked, bending down and gingerly touching her ankle.

"I think I sprained it when you pushed me aside," she said, trying to inject her tone with whimpering. She was a pretty good actress, if she did say so herself.

Sirius wrapped one of his arms around her waist and pulled one of her arms over his shoulders. He hoisted her to her feet, helping her stand so she wasn't putting any pressure on her 'sprained' ankle.

"Do you need to go to the nurse?" he inquired, sounding very concerned. Narcissa finally opened her eyes, knowing that now that she did so, the jig was up.

Sure enough, Sirius noticed the amusement and slyness glowing in her eyes. Her lips soon followed, carving out a playful smirk.

She only had a second to watch his expression go from worry to surprise to mock-outrage before she ducked away from him and began sprinting down the hall. Laughter rang freely from her. She heard Sirius yell something incoherent that sounded vaguely like a curse word.

She reached the end of the hallway and stopped, doubled-over with guffaws. She was laughing so hard that it was impossible to continue running.

Sirius caught up with her shortly after. "You little monster!" he yelled, though he was laughing, too. He very lightly slugged her on the arm. "Hope that bruises," he said.

"Like I bruised your ego?" Narcissa smirked.

"Enough with your cocksure attitude, 'Cissa," said Sirius. "I'm going to have to teach you a lesson." He rubbed his hands together menacingly.

"A lesson in how to be a loser?" Narcissa teased. "You're surely an expert at that."

"Your hair looks nice today," said Sirius, advancing even closer to her. "Very straight and smooth."

Narcissa's eyes widened. "Oh no!" she gasped. "Not the hair!"

Sirius nodded slowly, his entire face one big smirk as he pinned her head against his shoulder with one hand and used his other fist to rub against her scalp: the classic noogie.

"No, no, no!" she cried, squealing with laughter.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Sirius corrected. "Who's the loser now?"

"You still are!"

"Admit that I rule and you drool, and I'll let you go."

"Okay: I rule, you drool. Now let me go!"

Sirius laughed so loudly that it sounded like a bark. "Nice try, but you know that's not what I meant."

"I shall never admit defeat!" Narcissa declared, struggling to get away from Sirius' noogie.

"Then your hair will pay for it," Sirius said, grinning down at the static mess of pale blonde strands atop his cousin's head.

Finally, Narcissa tickled Sirius under the armpits, just then remembering it was his weak spot. He squealed like a girl and quickly released her. They both clutched their sides, howling with guffaws. After a few moments, their laughter subsided into chuckles and they regained their composure.

"Alright, time to head down to Potions," said Sirius. "Wonder what Slughorn's got planned for us today."

"Hopefully it's a potion that'll reduce hair frizz," Narcissa said, only half-joking. She used her fingertips to quickly comb out the tangles on her scalp; after several strokes, her hair was back to normal.

She and Sirius turned the corner and started toward the Potions classroom. The scene unfolding outside the classroom door made them exchange a furious look and hurry over.

"Give it back! Please, Lucius, I have to get to class!" begged Roger Milborn, a fellow Seventh Year who was unfortunately short for his age (about five-foot-two). He was jumping up and down, trying desperately to get back his Potions essay, which none other than that weasel Lucius Malfoy was holding high out of his reach.

Seeing as how Lucius had at least a foot on Roger, it was hardly fair. And the teasing was not at all in good fun.

Lucius stared down at Roger with cold amusement shining in his eyes. A devious smirk stretched across his lips. His cronies laughed in their stupid, _har-har-har_ way.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," Lucius hedged, pretending to think it over. "…_NO_!"

Roger was starting to panic; thin beads of perspiration sprouted along his forehead. He really needed to get his Potions essay back, but there wasn't much he could do about it. If he tried to stand up to Lucius or told on him, Lucius would curse him into next week.

"Hey, marshmallow-brain," Sirius growled, stepping beside Roger and fixing Lucius with a heated glare comprised of the deepest loathing. "Give him back his essay, before I have to make you do so."

At five-foot-eleven, Sirius was a few inches shorter than Lucius' looming stature, but the fierce look in his eyes and the malice of his tone made up for the height difference.

Narcissa stepped around Roger, coming up on his other side so that he was protected from both ends. She drew her wand and glowered at Lucius and his cronies. She would let Sirius do the talking but would have his and Roger's back if the fight progressed into more than just words.

Lucius' smirk dropped off his face, replaced with a look of dark hatred. Even though the look was aimed completely at Sirius, Narcissa felt a terrible chill dance down her spine. Lucius Malfoy, despite his Third Year-level antics of bullying, was _not_ someone to be messed with.

Lucius' cronies cracked their knuckles, glowering at Sirius. Narcissa felt invisible, and she didn't know if she was grateful or resentful of that fact.

"And what do you propose _you're_ going to do about it?" Lucius asked Sirius, his upper lip curling in disgust.

Sirius pulled his wand out of his robe pocket; Lucius did the same, still keeping Roger's essay high out of reach with his other hand.

Narcissa wasn't going to let a fight break out. She was no expert at arithmancy, but simple counting told her they were outnumbered five to three (and that was even if Roger decided to fight back – the odds might turn out to be five to _two_).

She pointed her wand at the parchment gripped in Lucius' hand, focused all of her concentration on it, and muttered clearly under her breath: "_Accio Roger's essay._"

It worked like a charm (no pun intended) – Roger's essay zoomed out of Lucius' fist, and only magic could account for it not being ripped in half as it did so. It landed gracefully in Narcissa's outstretched palm, and she promptly handed it over to Roger, whose eyes shone with gratitude and admiration toward her.

Lucius yelped in pain; his palm had been split by a nasty paper cut. He dropped his wand as he clutched his injured hand with his other hand; driblets of scarlet blood trickled down his palm and splashed to the stone floor.

Lucius turned his glower to Narcissa. But, unexpectedly, his narrowed eyes softened as they met hers, and he quickly focused his furious attention back on Sirius. Lucius began to bend over to collect his wand, but Sirius' foot had already landed on top of it, keeping it caged from Lucius' lunging fingers.

"_Stupefy_," one of Lucius' cronies – a hulking lad with a mean face by the unfortunate name of Elmer – bellowed, shooting his curse at Narcissa.

She was so busy watching Lucius and Sirius that she didn't see it coming; the next thing she knew, a jet of red light was zooming toward her in her peripheral vision, and then she felt the force of the spell knock into her chest like a fist, and then she hit the floor, unconscious.

The last thing she heard was an outraged cuss word yelled at Elmer that sounded strangely like it came from Lucius Malfoy.


	2. II

**Chapter Two**

When Narcissa came to a few minutes later, she felt slightly woozy and – for a few seconds – couldn't remember where she was. She blinked until the circle of faces staring concernedly down at her were no longer swimming.

Sirius' face split into an easy grin at her revival, but his eyes gleamed with relief. "Wake-y, wake-y, sleepyhead," he sing-songed, crouching down to help her up.

Narcissa took in her surroundings; Lucius and his mates were nowhere to be seen – rather, Sirius knelt before her, and Roger, Remus Lupin, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew were standing around her.

She allowed Sirius to pull her to her feet. She brushed off her robes before asking the question nipping away at her. "Where did Lucius and his minions go?"

"I ate them," said James, rubbing his stomach and closing his eyes contentedly. "They were a bit sour going down, and the aftertaste is disgusting, but it was worth it."

Narcissa laughed at his ridiculous response. "Honestly, lads, where'd they go?"

"When Remus, James, and Peter showed up and they realized the teams were about evened out, they ducked into the classroom," Sirius explained. "Like the true cowards they are," he couldn't resist adding, intense loathing returning to his tone. Narcissa gave him a gentle smile and rubbed his shoulder to calm him down.

"A real shame, considering I was looking forward to cursing them a new one," said Peter.

Narcissa bit back a smirk, secretly thinking that the odds of little Peter Pettigrew ever cursing _anyone_ a new one were slim to none. Instead, she said to him, "I appreciate your gallantry, Peter."

Peter blushed and looked away.

"You're all right though, Narcissa?" asked Remus, ever the caring fellow.

Narcissa waved away his question with a flick of her hand. "Of course. I've been Stunned before. I'm just a bit embarrassed that a goon like Elmer Fitzly was the one who did it."

"Thanks," Roger spoke up, turning grateful eyes first to Sirius and then to Narcissa. His cheeks were colored red with shame, and his expression was glum. "One of these days, I'll learn to fight my own battles."

"But in the meantime, you can always count on us," Sirius assured him.

"I hate to halt all this mushy-gushy happy-feelings stuff, but we should probably go to class now," said James. "Seeing as how it starts in five minutes."

The gang all entered Potions class, taking seats at the back; James and Sirius sat together, as did Remus and Peter. Roger sat beside Penny Popkins, a kind witch with a mass of frizzy black curls.

Narcissa had to sit at the Slytherin side of the classroom. She found a seat next to one of her room mates, Cynthia. To Narcissa's great disgust, at the next table over sat Lucius. They were separated only by a narrow slice of aisle.

Narcissa could _feel_ his eyes on her, like laser beams. Curse her nagging curiosity! She gave into temptation and looked over at him to see if her suspicions were correct. Sure enough, Lucius was staring at her intently; surprisingly, though, he quickly averted his eyes and looked to the front of the class when she caught him.

Professor Slughorn entered the room. "Good afternoon, class!" he bellowed jovially. His hat, dark green and pointy, bounced atop his head as he made his way to the chalkboard at the front of the room.

He enchanted a piece of chalk to write the words 'TODAY'S LESSON' upon the chalkboard in elegant script. Underneath that, the chalk wrote: 'Pepperup Potion.'

"Today we will be making the Pepperup Potion, which is actually quite simple. Seeing as how we're reaching the beginning of December, and thus runny noses and coughing aplenty from the likes of you, I felt it would be exceptionally useful to make batches of this potion, which relieves most symptoms of the common cold," said Slughorn, puffing out his chest proudly at his ingenious lesson plan.

"So turn your books to page 212, and begin!" he said excitedly, clapping his hands together.

Narcissa was just beginning to flip to that particular page in her textbook when a folded up piece of parchment was dropped onto her desk. From her peripheral vision, she could see Lucius pulling his hand away from the note and returning to his own book.

Narcissa stared at the note for a good ten seconds, debating whether to open it. She couldn't explain why, but her heart was pounding and her palms were growing clammy with sweat. After wiping her hands onto her robes, she picked up the piece of parchment and unfolded it.

Written in slanting, endearingly cursive-like penmanship, the note read: '_Sorry about earlier. Elmer's a git – he should know better than to hit a girl with a Stunning spell. Are you okay?_'

A war of emotions battled within Narcissa: her initial reaction was shock that Lucius Malfoy would care enough about her well-being to pass her a note during Potions class. Her next reaction was suspicion, because Lucius Malfoy wasn't the type to care about anyone other than himself. Then she felt a bit flattered, then angry at herself for being flattered over him, but then she felt irritation, and it won out in the end.

Who did Lucius think he was, saying that Elmer should know better than to hit a _girl_? The gall of him, to imply that girls deserved special treatment over boys in combat! Girls had just as much right to be knocked unconscious by a Stunning spell than boys did. She wasn't some delicate little flower who needed to be watched out for; she could take perfectly good care of herself, thank you very much.

Pursing her lips and uncurling her balled fists of rage, Narcissa dipped her quill freshly in ink and wrote back to Lucius in her own handwriting, when was blocky and large. '_I would thank you for your concern and accept your apology, except for two things. 1: I don't particularly like you. At all. & 2: It makes no difference of my gender; Elmer's a git no matter what. Save the sexist attitude for someone else._'

Her wrist flew across the parchment, sending ink to splatter along the edges and to smear some of her words. She hoped it was still legible; though she'd always had sloppy handwriting, this particular rant of hers slightly resembled dragon scratch.

She folded the paper over twice this time, finding satisfaction in giving it an extra, purposeful crease. She tossed the note in Lucius' general direction, not wanting to lean over to him, and then turned her book to page 212.

She'd just gotten finished with reading the list of ingredients and copying them down onto a sheet of parchment when the note landed onto the edge of her desk again. She was about to pick it up when Cynthia spoke up.

"Are you passing notes with Lucius Malfoy?" she asked.

Narcissa's neck snapped toward Cynthia, startled with the reality that she was not alone in the room with Lucius, as it had felt. She had been so angry with him that everyone else in the room had seemed to disappear.

"Oh…ehm…yes." Narcissa had to be careful with how she worded things around Cynthia, because Cynthia was the biggest gossip she knew.

Cynthia might not talk much, but that was because the cunning girl was always calculating her next move. Narcissa wasn't very good friends with her because the lass was a class-A blabbermouth.

Cynthia tucked a stray strand of long, silky auburn hair behind her ear and blinked at Narcissa expectantly. "Well? What is it about? Thought you hated him."

Narcissa felt like snapping 'it's none of your business' to Cynthia, but she knew how sensitive her roommate was. Saying such a thing would only drive her to flame the rumor mill with lies about Narcissa. No, like dealing with a hungry, rabid dog, it was best to be on your guard around her.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Narcissa. "He's asking me about that Charms assignment due tomorrow. And no, I don't hate him." But she completely did.

Cynthia lifted her eyebrows, clearly not believing Narcissa, and then returned to adding the black beetle eyes to her potion. Which reminded Narcissa – she really needed to get started on hers, but that note was calling out to her, egged on by her dratted curiosity.

This time when she read it, she was careful to use her arm as a wall around it, keeping it safe from Cynthia's soon-to-be prying eyes.

'_Ouch. You really don't like me? Despite being in the same House and the same Year, have we ever really talked?'_

Narcissa was surprised by his response. He hadn't insulted her back, but he rather seemed to be attempting an actual conversation.

She replied, her hand not flying across the page with indignant gusto this time, but rather choosing her words carefully: '_We've only talked a few times, brief and insignificant enough that I don't recall anything other than that you were arrogant. You're too busy bullying people to engage in any real conversations.'_

She passed the note back to Lucius, this time reaching over to ensure it landed on his desk, but still refusing to look over at him.

She went back to her textbook and read the instructions. First, she needed to add three cups of water to a heated cauldron. Gulping gargoyles, she hadn't even heated her blasted caldron yet!

She quickly did so and then added three cups of water. The water began to simmer and then boil. She added thirteen black beetle eyes, stirred clockwise twice, and finally added two drops of dragon's blood. Now she needed to let it simmer for six minutes.

She set the hourglass to time for six minutes and then turned it over. She was distracted by the sand falling to the bottom when she noticed that, sometime during her potion making, Lucius had responded to the note.

This time it read: '_I have the perfect remedy: why don't we hang out sometime and "engage in a real conversation"? Drop the preconceived notions you have of me, and I'll do the same for you.'_

Narcissa was stunned; did he really want to hang out with her? Against everything she stood for, her cheeks heated up with a blush. She dared to look over at Lucius. He, too, was at the stage in his potion where he could only wait for it to simmer for six minutes. He was looking over at her, his expression even more illegible than her prior fit of bad handwriting.

Despite herself, she had to admit he was incredibly handsome: a head full of thick blonde hair, straight on top but ending in a stylish curl at the nape of his neck; very masculine features – a square jaw, broad shoulders, pronounced nose; and intense eyes like a stormy night, able to penetrate through her toughest façade.

Narcissa held eye-contact with him, throwing back her shoulders and making her expression as neutral as she could while her heart had involuntarily begun racing within her chest. To her surprise, Lucius' cold eyes grew warm when they met hers, and his lips wore not a cruel smirk but a gentle smile that made her heart skip a beat. If she believed that Lucius was capable of such a feeling, Narcissa would've thought he almost looked shy.

Swallowing against a drying throat, she returned to the note and scratched out her response: '_If you promise not to bother Roger ever again, and if you promise not to tell anyone of our "hanging out," then I will agree to meet you someplace private to talk._'

_There_, she told herself. _Now I'm doing this as a favor to Roger, not because I _want_ to do it_.

She passed the note back to Lucius, her arm stiff as she did so. She had to force herself not to look at him this time.

Less than half a minute passed when his reply came. This time, rather than place the note on the edge of her desk, Lucius kept it tucked within his palm and placed his hand on top of Narcissa's, which was resting on the desk.

She was so startled by his gentle, warm touch that she almost knocked her hourglass over. She immediately jerked her hand away, her heart picking up speed again. Her stomach fluttered at the memory of his big hand enveloping her small one, even if it was for just a second. She dared herself to look at him; his eyes sparkled with amusement, but it wasn't the cold kind he usually showed. His lips were fighting back a smirk, though it wasn't cruel so much as it was playful.

"Do I frighten you, Black?" he asked, his low, usually drawling voice now a husky whisper.

Narcissa scoffed loudly, but there was no denying how _nervous_ she suddenly felt around him, like a jackrabbit being hunted by a lion. It was ridiculous – she had _never_ felt this way around Lucius before. Funny how it took him being gentle to make her lose her wits, but she could deal with him being terrible just fine.

Smirking, Lucius dropped the parchment onto the desk, making a point to keep well away from touching her hand again. Only when he'd leaned back over to his own area was Narcissa able to breathe properly.

She checked her hourglass – she had two more minutes left.

There were only three words written this time, but they had as much impact as if he had written multiple paragraphs.

'_It's a date._'

Her treacherous lips pulled back into a completely involuntary smile, and her stomach fluttered with excitement. What was going on? What was _wrong_ with her to make her react this way? It had to be the smell of all the potions in the air, making her brain malfunction or something.

Because there was no way in Hades she would ever, _ever_ feel anything other than contempt at the idea of a 'date' with Lucius Malfoy.


	3. III

**A/N: **Thank you to those who reviewed. :D Please do so, as it makes me happy and gives me more incentive to update faster.

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Chapter Three

The bell rang, signaling the end of Potions class. Narcissa had managed to brew a batch successfully enough to earn full credit from Slughorn.

The same, however, could not be said of Sirius and James.

Sirius' potion had exploded all over his desk because, while joking around with James, he'd accidentally let his simmer for two minutes too long. Most of the projectile potion had just splashed onto his table, soaking his textbook but not causing any harm. However, some of it got into James'. James' potion had been at a delicate stage, and so the adding of Sirius' potion had made it so fierce that it burned a small hole through the side of his cauldron.

Needless to say, both Sirius and James were going to have to schedule to redo the potion so they wouldn't get failing marks.

Narcissa was collecting her things, about to head over to James and Sirius to cheer them up from their debacle, when Lucius came up to her.

He was so close; she could feel his presence looming over her, could smell the subtle scent of his expensive cologne, a clean, intoxicating blend of forest pine and cinnamon.

Narcissa slung her black book bag over her shoulder and looked up at Lucius expectantly. She was no dwarf herself, but she'd never really realized how _tall_ he was before.

"What do you want?" she snapped, resenting his superior height.

He leaned toward her, his shoulder pressing into hers. She tried to side-step him but ended up running into her desk, her hip colliding painfully with the edge. Well, _that_ was going to bruise.

Lucius' mouth was mere inches from her ear as he whispered, his warm breath tickling inside her ear and sending shivers all over her neck, "Friday. Midnight. The Astronomy Tower."

She could only look up into those intense eyes of his, willing herself to fire off some scathing retort, to push him away, to do _something_! She gulped against a throat that was dry as dragon scales.

Before turning and striding away in his arrogant manner, Lucius had the gall to actually _wink_ at her. She watched him go in disbelief, her heart sprinting so fast that her head spun.

After taking a few deep breaths and mentally berating herself for temporarily losing her mind, Narcissa went over to James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter at the back of the room. Remus was helping mend the small but still problematic hole in James' cauldron and Sirius was mopping up the spillage with some rags Peter had gotten for him.

"Wow, Sirius, you know the aim of making potions is to keep them _in the cauldron_, right?" Narcissa teased, grabbing an extra rag and cleaning up some of the spots he'd missed.

Sirius rolled his eyes but allowed himself a teensy grin. "Yeah, I gathered that, thanks."

"There you go, James, good as new," said Remus after he'd finished fixing up the cauldron with handy-dandy Spellotape.

"Thanks, mate," said James, high-fiving Remus.

"I'd love to stay and wait for you guys, but I promised Bella I'd help her with her History of Magic homework," Narcissa told them.

"Okay, we'll catch up with you later, Cissa," Sirius said, but there was now a frown on his face. He and Bellatrix, Narcissa's younger sister, didn't get along very well, to put it mildly.

"I-I'll walk you to your dormitory, Narcissa," murmured Peter, looking down at his feet.

Narcissa ignored the sniggering from James and Sirius. She had a feeling Peter might fancy her as more than a friend, and James and Sirius' knowing smirks weren't helping the matter.

"Okay, Peter," she said, not wanting to lead him on but not wanting to hurt his feelings either. "But you know the Slytherin dormitory is just a ways down the hall, right? I can walk myself just fine."

Peter blanched and looked to Remus, his face clearly reading '_what do I do now!_'. Remus gave him an encouraging nod, subtle enough that Narcissa wouldn't have even noticed it had she not been paying so close attention to their exchange.

"I kn-know you can walk yourself, but I think I sh-should walk you," stammered Peter. He cleared his throat, puffed out his chest, and came up beside Narcissa. He surprised her by linking arms with her and tugging her out of the room.

She exchanged an amused look with Sirius and tried not to giggle at Peter's sudden show of force. Good for him for taking the initiative, except for the little detail that Narcissa _really_ wasn't interested in him in that way.

Peter pulled Narcissa out of the classroom. He was just blindly herding her along, and so he didn't slow down or move over enough to make room for both him and Narcissa to pass through the doorway at the same time; thus, Narcissa ended up ramming her shin against the doorframe.

Pain shot up her leg and she bit down on her tongue to keep from yelping.

Poor Peter. He had so much to learn.

* * *

"There you go, Bella, you've got it now!" Narcissa encouraged. "See, it's not too hard to memorize all those dates when you have a helpful acronym that spells out a funny phrase."

Bellatrix ran her hands through her sleek black hairline. "Thanks, Cissy, but it would be so much easier if I just cheated." She laughed her slightly manic laugh, only half-joking.

Narcissa smiled wanly. She loved her sister dearly, but sometimes she didn't exactly make the right choices. "You can do it on your own," Narcissa said, leaning over and kissing her sister atop her head. "I have faith in you."

Bellatrix smiled, her eyes fluttering closed in contentment.

"I'm going to go upstairs and wash up," said Narcissa, affectionately ruffling her sister's hair. "Come get me if you need more help, okay?"

"Okay," said Bellatrix.

Narcissa smiled to herself and headed upstairs. She slipped into the ladies' room and headed over to the giant mirror stretching over a row of glitteringly clean sinks.

She splashed some water onto her face, careful not to ruin the little bit of eye makeup she wore. She stared into the mirror, watching as little beads of water rolled down her face, dangled from her chin, plopped back into the sink below.

She really didn't want to think about him, but her thoughts turned to Lucius.

She wondered what he saw in her. Did he think her pretty? Homely? Endearingly cute? Ugly? Beautiful? _What_?

Narcissa had always considered herself to be attractive, but not drop-dead-gorgeous or anything. She had flawless skin, very fair and smooth as porcelain. She'd never had to deal with a noticeable blemish even through these teen years.

And she liked her big, genuine smile.

But she thought her hair was rather _boring_. Flat, pale blonde, straight. She envied her sister's beautiful, luscious raven-colored tresses.

And her body type was so _flat_ – she was slender, sure, but where were her curves? Boyish hips and small breasts. Yeah, _that_ was what boys liked.

Narcissa dried the remnants of water from her face and styled her hair into a simple but elegant bun. Dinner would be starting soon, and she didn't want to look like she felt – tired and slightly grumpy from enduring a long day of classes.

As she exited the wash room and started up the staircase leading to the girls' dormitory, she passed by Cynthia, conversing in low tones with Imelda, one of their other roommates.

With her long, graceful legs and fabulous, shiny dark hair swinging down to the middle of her back, Imelda was incredibly beautiful. She was the kind of girl whom radiated such self-assurance and egotism that anyone within a mile's radius instantly felt inferior.

When Narcissa passed by Cynthia and Imelda, they both immediately stopped talking, looked at her, and then giggled with each other.

So they'd been talking about her. _Lovely_.

"Hello, Cynthia, Imelda," said Narcissa a bit stiffly, nodding once toward each of them.

"Hello, Narcissa," said Imelda, tossing back her shimmering hair. Her almond-shaped, dark brown eyes were even more arrogant than usual. "Cynthia was just telling me about your passing notes with one Lucius Malfoy during Potions class."

Narcissa felt her blood boiling. Couldn't Cynthia ever keep her fat mouth shut?

"As I told Cynthia, he was asking me about the Charms assignment," she said icily. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go up to our room now."

And she turned and purposefully strode away, trying not to let the chorus of snickering affect her too much.


	4. IV

**A/N: **Wow, so it's been over a year since I last updated this. Honestly, I lost passion for it, and since very few if any ever reviewed, I felt like no one was reading this, so why bother? But now I'm like, whatever, I want to update this because I already have a lot of it written anyway, so here I go again! I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter, and I really hope for some sweet, magnificent REVIEWS, as they really do encourage me to update faster (and to actually update at all! LOL). :) Enjoy! And Happy Early New Year's! Yee-uh!

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Lucius Malfoy had never been one to get nervous over a girl. Nerves? Ha! That was child's play.

And Lucius Malfoy had certainly never wasted his precious time thinking about something other than his life's ambitions (become Minister of Magic or some other important Ministry position) or what was going on with him right here and right now.

So then why couldn't he stop thinking about a certain blonde-haired girl with a knack for putting him in his place? And why did his stomach swoop out from under him when her wide, innocent eyes filled his mind?

It wasn't like she was particularly beautiful. And she certainly wasn't Lucius' type.

He preferred exotic, darkly gorgeous girls who knew they were hot and strutted around like they owned the place – the perfect example of this being Imelda, his constant snogging mate.

The only way to really describe how Narcissa Black looked – the girl Lucius couldn't shake from his conscience – was _angelic_. And God knew Lucius didn't want any potential love interest of his to have that pure, wholesome look. It reminded him of niceness, the most despicable weakness of all.

Still, her voice – soft and soothing as cashmere, but lined with jagged edges of acerbic wit when provoked – sang through his ears like a haunting melody.

God, what was becoming of him! He sounded like an utter prat, lying here in bed, comparing some insignificant girl's voice to the likeness of 'a haunting melody.' If he ever compared her light green eyes to two glowing orbs of captured lily pads, please _Diffindo _him into smithereens.

But it had been just yesterday that he had scheduled a rendezvous with Narcissa in the Astronomy Tower (although a cliché secret meeting spot, it was effective enough to not be waved away), and he just could not stop thinking about the things she'd written on the note.

She thought him a bully; she claimed not to like him. The way she glared at him, the way his charm didn't seem to work on her, the way she drew away in repulsion when he touched her, even if just for a fleeting moment – with all of this against him, how could he ever get her to understand he wasn't the horrible guy she'd pegged him as?

It wasn't his fault all these twerps grated on his last nerve so much that he had to take action, right? Those Mudbloods like Roger Whateverhislastnameis shouldn't be allowed to attend the same school as Purebloods such as himself. It was just common knowledge that they didn't possess the magical capabilities of Purebloods, and thus shouldn't be dragging down the school's curriculum.

Just then, his dormitory room's door burst open, interrupting him from his thoughts. In came what could be passed off as his friends: Elmer Fitzly, Jasper Reynolds, and Carver Harold.

"'Ello, Lucius," said Elmer, flopping down onto his bed on the opposite side of the room. His large, muscled frame caused the bedsprings to groan in protest.

Jasper went over to his nightstand and pulled open the drawer, so he could rummage around for his candy. Jasper had the biggest sweet tooth of anyone Lucius had ever met, including the grubby little First Years.

"Care for a Bertie Bott's, Luc?" he asked.

Lucius made a face. "You know I'd sooner snog a House-Elf than eat processed food, Jasper."

"He wouldn't want to upset his lady-like figure," joked Elmer.

_Why_ did he hang out with these morons? Lucius' blood pressure always rose when around his imbecile 'friends.' They were more of conveniences than mates.

"Why must you two act like you've been hit with one too many Confundus Charms?" asked Carver in his cold, husky voice.

Carver was the only one Lucius actually liked of his roommates, because Carver actually had a mind of his own and wasn't bloody obnoxious and stupid all the time.

Elmer and Jasper exchanged a look, not sure if they should laugh at this good-naturedly or be genuinely offended. With Carver, you never knew if he was taking the Mickey out of you, or if he was trying to hurt your feelings.

Elmer scratched the top of his little-boy haircut, a boring shade of brown and complete with out-of-style too-short bangs; Jasper shrugged his thin, bony shoulders.

Elmer and Jasper were best mates and shared almost the same personality, but physically, they couldn't be more different: Elmer was a hulking mass of rippling muscle; Jasper was skinny despite eating like a Hippogriff, and he had pointy facial features and watery black eyes that made him slightly resemble a blind rat.

"So, guess who I ran into in the library, Lucius?" said Carver, speaking from the side of his mouth so that Elmer and Jasper were left out of the conversation. He sat down beside Lucius and absentmindedly fiddled with the end of his dark green pillowcase.

"Who?" Lucius inquired, lifting one eyebrow.

"Cynthia Redrick."

"That annoying magpie who couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it?" Lucius asked in revulsion.

Carver chuckled. "That's the one. Guess who she's been telling everyone she's _dying_ to go out with?"

Lucius groaned. "It better not be me."

"Your vanity astounds me, Lucius," Carver smirked. He was really enjoying Lucius' displeasure all too much. "No, as a matter of fact, she's dying to go out with _me_."

"Other than the fact that you enjoy making me feel like I'm about to puke, you're telling me this because…."

"Oh, come off it! She's not _that_ bad, and you have to admit she's not hard to look at."

"Who cares how good-looking someone is when you can't even snog them because they're too busy flapping their lips about the latest fashion disaster?"

"Look, the point is, when she was telling this to her group of friends, a certain Imelda Crandall said she fancies you."

Lucius smirked at this. "That's not news, Carver; Imelda and I have snogged loads of times before."

Carver rolled his eyes. "I knew you wouldn't appreciate that the most beautiful girl in all of Hogwarts – _neigh, _in _the world_ – chose you out of many worthy candidates, myself included."

But Lucius was no longer paying attention.

Because when Carver had said 'most beautiful girl,' his mind had immediately been consumed with an image of Narcissa Black, her blonde hair tumbling forward as she stirred her cauldron in Potions class.

* * *

It was now Thursday, and the end of the week had brought along a decrease in the temperature so that the Hogwarts ground now felt more like the beginning of December. Snow would probably be arriving within a few weeks, and the grass was becoming more crunchy and dead beneath students' shoes.

Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter were sitting below their favorite tree. Though the chilly air and cloudy gray sky made the shade the tree provided moot, it was still the perfect spot to lounge and relax right before lunchtime.

"You excited for the upcoming Quidditch game against Hufflepuff, Jamesie?" Sirius inquired, picking at clumps of hardening soil.

James made a _pfft_ noise. "You're joking, right? 'Course I am. Though I don't think it's going to be much of a challenge; I'm kind of my team's secret weapon."

Remus shook his head, not looking up from the schoolwork he was completing. "Way to remain humble even amidst stardom."

Sirius laughed. "The team's secret weapon, eh? Not so secret when you've been Chaser for years now."

"Slytherin already beat Ravenclaw," said Peter. "Which means they've been gloating more than ever, convinced they're going to win the Cup this year. _Please_ don't let that happen, James."

James rolled his eyes. "Not like I'd _let_ that happen, Wormtail. Though I will say, I've got it covered." He cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck, trying to look tough.

Sirius covered his face with his hands. "Great. We're doomed."

James punched him in the arm in response.

"'Ey! That hurt!" Sirius grouched, leaning over and pinching James in retaliation.

"Now you're just playing dirty!" James protested, rubbing his arm.

Sirius lunged at him, and soon they were being typical teenage boys, roughhousing in the dirt.

"I put three Sickles on Sirius to win," Peter joked.

"I would take that back if I were you." One corner of Remus' mouth lifted up in a lopsided grin. "James may be skinny, but he's got more perseverance than Sirius."

"Why do you two have to be such _boys_?" said a familiar girl's voice.

James and Sirius stopped wrestling with each other and looked up at Narcissa, their legs tangled together like some weird type of Giant Squid.

Laughing, they extracted themselves from each other and dusted the dirt from their jeans.

"I was just coming over to see if any of you wanted to play a game of Exploding Snap," Narcissa explained, "but carry on if…_whatever_ you guys were doing is more interesting."

Sirius grinned his trademark boyish grin and patted the spot next to him. "Nah, Exploding Snap sounds like more fun. Plus, I enjoy whooping your arse at it."

"Because card games are the only thing you _can_ whoop my arse at," Narcissa teased. "Seeing as how I've got you completely beat at academics and pretty much anything else."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at her; Narcissa flicked the end of his nose.

"Aren't you two just adorable?" James said in a baby voice. "Like brother and sister, you are."

"Eh, he's just my pest of a cousin," Narcissa teased.

"Hey, you admitted we're related in a public setting!" Sirius pressed a hand over his heart and tilted his head to the side. "I'm touched."

"No, you're a git," Narcissa corrected, but she was smiling.

And so Narcissa, Sirius, James, and Peter all played the magical card game while Remus finished up his schoolwork, even though it wasn't due until next week. Peter was considerably more quiet and bashful now that Narcissa was around, but they still all had a blast (no pun intended) playing Exploding Snap.


	5. V

**A/N:** Sorry it's taken me so long to update. Thank you for all of the support! You guys are awesome. :D Please continue to leave reviews and let me know what you think. I know this chapter is pretty short, but the next one is a lot longer, trust me. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

It was finally Friday.

Usually Narcissa was so aware of this day because it marked the end of getting up early for classes and sitting through long lesson plans, and it marked the start of two whole days of blissful freedom.

However, this particular Friday was important for a whole other reason.

Because tonight at midnight, Narcissa was going to sneak out of her dormitory and meet Lucius Malfoy at the Astronomy Tower.

She'd only snuck out of her dormitory after hours a few times, and those were purely hunger-related (she'd tiptoe to the kitchens and swipe some leftover food). But never had she snuck out to meet a _boy_.

And even though the boy was one she loathed as much as slimy Lucius, she still felt a secret thrill at the idea.

Her day went by in a strange warping of time – her morning classes were excruciatingly slow; lunch crawled by at a snail's pace, as she had to keep pretending to be listening to whatever Bellatrix was saying while her mind was really set on making her eyes not wander over to Lucius' end of the table; and her afternoon classes raced by so quickly that she could barely keep up.

Before she knew it, the bell signaling the end of her last class was tolling, and she was hurriedly gathering up her things and leaving Professor Binn's classroom in a bit of a daze.

Despite having all of her classes with him, Lucius had not said a word to Narcissa since Monday's Potions lesson. They had gone back to completely ignoring each other's existence. Narcissa wondered if he had already forgotten about their 'hanging out' tonight, or if he had been joking about it all along. Worse yet, what if he _did_ remember and planned to stand her up? Narcissa felt like jinxing him just thinking about it, so she turned her mind to more calming thoughts.

She hated to procrastinate, so she went ahead and finished all of her weekend homework as soon as she reached the Slytherin Common Rooms. This way, she would have the entire weekend to do whatever she pleased.

Just when she'd completed all of her work, it was time for dinner. Strangely enough, when Narcissa got to the Slytherin dining table, Lucius wasn't there. Granted, he usually arrived 'fashionably late,' but all of his friends were sitting in their usual place.

So why wasn't Lucius with them?

Narcissa's stomach was a bundle of knots. Now that midnight didn't seem so far away, she could think of nothing else but going up there alone with Lucius. Of course, there was still the possibility of him standing her up…_or_, she could always stand _him_ up. It would certainly serve him right….

She was so engrossed in her own little world that she jumped about a foot in the air when somebody tapped her on the shoulder.

Familiar bark-like laughter ensued.

Narcissa spun around on the bench and smacked Sirius on the chest. "God! _Don't do that!_" she snapped.

Sirius smirked widely. "What's got your panties twisted in such a knot?"

"Please don't ever say the word 'panties' around me again," said Narcissa, her heart still racing from the fright, "or I'll regurgitate my meal."

Sirius burst into laughter. "_Regurgitate_? What kind of pretentious prat says _regurgitate_?"

Narcissa fought back a smile and tried not to laugh.

Bellatrix, who had been staring pointedly at Sirius during this whole exchange, said, "What are _you_ doing over here? Don't you belong with your stuck-up Gryffindors?"

"Did you hear that, 'Cissa?" Sirius made a show of searching for the sound, even going so far as looking under the table. "Sounded like an extremely annoying fly buzzing around."

Bellatrix made a guttural noise that sounded like a threatening growl and then turned back to her dinner.

"_Any_way," Sirius heaved a dramatic sigh, "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me and the blokes tonight."

"When and where?" Narcissa asked. Sirius had successfully diverted her attention away from '_Friday. Midnight. The Astronomy Tower._', but now her stomach was churning again.

"Meet us outside the Gryffindor Common Room around eleven o'clock," Sirius said. "We're going to have a jolly old time until the wee hours of the morn."

Narcissa frowned. Hanging out with the guys was always a blast, but there was no way she could go, because she'd have to leave around midnight and wouldn't have a believable excuse in only hanging out for an hour or so.

"Wish I could, but I…" Quickly, she searched for a lie. "Am really tired," she settled for. "I'm going to turn in early for the night. So that way I'll have loads of energy to hang out with you tomorrow, yes?"

Sirius flashed his lopsided grin. "All right. Wish you could make it, but I understand the princess needs her beauty sleep." He winked at her playfully before heading back over to the Gryffindor table.

Narcissa felt terrible for lying to him, but she knew there was no way Sirius would ever let her meet Lucius Malfoy alone in the Astronomy Tour after hours; he was much too protective of her for that. And he hated Lucius _way_ too much to ever understand Narcissa wanting to hang out with him.

Except for Narcissa wasn't meeting Lucius up there tonight because she was interested in him.

Oh no, her curiosity was to blame.

And, of course, she owed it to Roger Milborn.

* * *

It took at least fifteen minutes to get to the Astronomy Tower from the Slytherin dungeons, and that was when one was walking quickly. Narcissa certainly didn't want to arrive early, and she didn't want to be exactly on time, but she didn't want to be late-late either.

So she settled for leaving the dormitory at eleven-fifty, so that she'd be about five minutes late. Not desperately prompt; not rudely tardy.

Just one problem: the Common Room was _packed_ at eleven-fifty on a Friday night. Her fellow Slytherins might not have been as big of party animals as the Gryffindors, but no self-respecting teenager was going to go to bed before midnight on the first night of the weekend.

Narcissa tried not to be seen as she tiptoed down the stairs and into the Common Room. She didn't really have many good friends in her House, seeing as how she spent most of her free time with either Sirius & Co. or with Bellatrix. So she didn't really have a problem having to worry about someone stopping her to chat or inviting her to hang out with them.

Still, Narcissa spotted Cynthia and Imelda talking beside the fireplace, and though they weren't close to the exit, they were still too close for comfort.

Now that Narcissa thought about it, where was Lucius? Shouldn't they both be leaving around the same time if they were to make it to the Astronomy Tower around midnight?

He'd been absent at dinner and she hadn't seen him around afterward, either. A feeling of foreboding stirred within her. What if he _was_ going to stand her up?

No matter. Even if he wasn't there, sneaking up to the Astronomy Tower well after curfew would be a fun adventure on its own.

Finally, when most people's attention was away from the exit, Narcissa made her leave. Only a few Second Years saw her, but she was pretty sure they didn't even know her name.

She walked briskly up many winding staircases and down many paths dimly lit by lanterns. She was careful to be as quiet as possible, blending in with the shadows along Hogwart's stone walls. Once, she was almost discovered by Peeves, and only hastily slipping into a thankfully unlocked classroom saved her.

According to one of the clocks hanging along the walls, it was ten minutes past midnight when Narcissa's aching legs _finally_ reached the Astronomy Tower. She finished climbing the seemingly never ending, intensely winding staircase leading up to it and paused to catch her breath before entering the Tower.

The moon, so huge and silver, was shining so brightly that the flickering lanterns weren't needed up here. The black velvet sky was studded with diamond stars.

And standing a ways down before her, leaning against the stone wall and staring out into at the beautiful night sky, was Lucius Malfoy, his profile basked in silvery moonlight.

Narcissa's heart stuttered in her chest. She cleared her throat, threw back her shoulders, and strode forward, summoning as much courage and confidence as she could find when her knees were threatening to buckle from nerves.

"Hello, Lucius," she said in a clear, strong voice.

He turned toward her, and the moonlight was a spotlight of glowing silver upon his face. His beauty took her breath away, and she willed herself to stay composed.


End file.
